TAI🐸
MAV🪩
xolo's invited the cast over for
post filming drinks tomorrow
how do i politely impolitely decline
TAI🐸
you say wow thanks xolo that sounds
lovely i'll be there
MAV🪩
you're useless
TAI🐸
but you're going right
MAV🪩
yes i'm going
he knows my address
i need to know his to make the
threat equal
TAI🐸
:/
MAV🪩
also because it's a little rude even
for me to not show up after he drove
me to set every day for like five
weeks
TAI🐸
can i come?
MAV🪩
absolutely not
TAI🐸
shame
MAV🪩
i don't think it's a very big gathering
probably just like me and lacy
a couple of the other actors who played
our friends and angel's siblings
and then jacob and haven i imagine
since xolo and jacob live together
TAI🐸
for someone who wasn't going to go
you've really done your research
MAV🪩
i'm a hater of social gatherings and
things i'm not prepared for
so a social gathering i'm not prepared
for was not on my agenda
besides
i needed to know who i have to talk to
to ensure that i can ignore xolo
sufficiently
TAI🐸
i think you might be taking this boy
down from pegs he was never even
strung up on
MAV🪩
i'm keeping him humble
now
help me pick out an outfit
TAI🐸
for a small social gathering you
don't at all care about
MAV🪩
exactly
does this slay hard enough
TAI🐸
it's a moderate slay
MAV🪩
good
don't wanna be providing too much
sending false messages and all
TAI🐸
sometimes i worry about what goes
through your head
☆☆☆
maeve arrived about an hour late, but xolo wasn't expecting anything different. she was punctual in the same sense that she was professional, but this was not professional, so therefore she saw no need to be punctual.
it was jacob who answered the door, though xolo came bounding after him as though he was trying to beat him.
"the ever famous maeve tanner! we've heard so much about you!" jacob greeted, the cup in his hand clearly not his first.
"they've heard a normal and totally reasonable amount about you," xolo clarified, shoving his friend back into the house playfully and scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. "i'm glad you could make it, though."
"sorry i'm late, i-"
"didn't want to come?" xolo finished for her, that daft smile on his face again.
"who actually says that?" maeve cocked up an eyebrow.
"no one, probably. but you were thinking it."
instead of arguing, maeve followed him through the house into a living room occupied with people. she was right in her assumption that it wasn't a busy gathering, just lacy and three other actors from the film who were about their age, along with haven, and jacob, who was settling back into her side after his race to the front door.
"you want a drink?" xolo asked, gesturing to the selection on the table. "we have vodka, shitty wine, and juice, if you want juice?"
"shitty wine is actually my favourite type of wine," the girl nodded, accepting a cup from him and pouring herself some.
"smart choice," haven grinned, making room next to herself on the couch for maeve to sit. "the vodka and juice are both also shitty."
the evening went far better than the girl had expected. she found she really liked haven, and haven really liked her. jacob definitely had some of the obnoxious loudmouth energy she had initially pinned on xolo, but haven balanced it out in a way that maeve almost found endearing.
xolo spent a lot of the evening talking to lacy, but once she was a couple of glasses of wine down, maeve encouraged the two to join the conversation she'd struck up with haven and jacob, and eventually, they all congregated as a big group.
at some point, jacob insisted on breaking out the nintendo switch, and the most intense game of alcoholic mario kart maeve had ever seen broke out. after losing miserably to jacob on four out of four races, xolo offered the remote out to maeve, who shook her head.
"nope, no thank you. downing wine in the midst of mario kart races feels more appealing to watch than partake in."
"oh, come on," the man pouted, trying once again, and maeve shook her head. "you might end up being really good."
"or i might end up losing miserably, and that is not something i do."
watching the interaction, haven took the other controller from her boyfriend and scooted closer to maeve.
"come on, we'll race. fuck them and their arrogant competitive streaks."
sighing, maeve took the remote from xolo.
"tell me what buttons to press."
their fingers brush as xolo explained the controls, but maeve's face was already red from the alcohol, so it wasn't as though anybody thought anything.
once maeve and haven started racing, xolo turned half of his attention to teaching lacy how to play, but a big portion of it was focused on watching maeve down her wine like a champ and manage to beat haven, who'd had significantly more practice.
"wow, look at you go, maverick. i'm impressed."
maeve rolled her eyes at his raised eyebrows, averting her eyes to her chiming phone and handing off the controller to one of the others, dismissing herself to take the call.
after tucking herself into a bedroom upstairs, which she probably should have figured was xolo's, she answered the call, sitting herself on the edge of the bed.
"ollie, what's up?"
"hi maeve," her little brother spoke sheepishly through the phone.
"is everything okay? i'm at a party right now, so i'm not much help, but-"
"do you remember my xbox password, maevey?"
there was a long pause.
"is that seriously what you rung me for at half past eleven at night?"
"maybe." maeve could hear the smile in ollie's voice. "do you know it?"
the girl sighed, listening to the sound of her brother tapping away at his controller on the end of the phone before answering.
"it's o and then your birthday, a and then alex's birthday, m and then my birthday."
more tapping.
"that worked. thanks, maeve."
"never call me again."
"love you!" ollie called down the phone before hanging up quickly.
dropping her phone onto the bedsheet beside her, maeve leant back on her hands and took a deep breath. she could still hear people talking downstairs, but it was quieter now. she was a little thankful for the excuse to get away from it all— her social battery wasn't especially built for anyone other than taiyo, but these people all seemed to be doing okay.
a small knock on the door alerted her to xolo's presence before he entered.
"hey, just wanted to come check on you," he smiled smally. "is everything okay?"
"all good," maeve nodded. "ollie forgot his fucking xbox password and decided it was an essential call to make."
he laughed at that, before gesturing to the side of the bed where maeve wasn't.
"can i sit?"
"it's your bed, is it not?"
"right." xolo nodded with a tight lipped smile but still didn't make any effort to move.
"that was a yes, dumbass."
rolling his eyes, the man sat, mimicking her position and leaning back on his hands.
"the others have called it a night. haven and jacob are still sat duking it out over mario kart."
"ah," maeve nodded, a smirk playing on her lips. "so you've come to kick me out."
xolo's eyes widened instantly.
"no, not at all! you don't have to leave. i mean, you can, if you want. or we could, i don't know, talk?"
"what would you like to talk about?" it amused her more than she would admit how surprised he seemed when she didn't jump at leaving.
"i don't know." he scratched the back of his head. "the film, maybe? i saw your instagram post about it."
"i realised that when you commented on it."
"you don't half make this difficult."
maeve lifted her feet, drawing her knees up underneath her and turning to face the boy more clearly.
"i'm sorry. i'll be an open book from now on."
"will you?"
shrugging, the girl seemed to agree.
"well, obviously the film is about nico discovering she's aromantic, and you said in your post about how much the representation means to you. i mean, are you? if you don't mind me asking, of course."
maeve cut him off before he managed to fully commit to his word vomit, which was unusual, as watching him fumble over his words was one of her finest forms of entertainment typically.
"i don't mind you asking. not many people do ask because it's not exactly your stereotypical coming out. do you know what demisexual is?"
xolo nodded, a little hesitant at the girl's openness.
"that's where you need to like, really know someone and care about them platonically before you can develop romantic or sexual feelings for them, right?"
the brunette nodded, considerably impressed.
"and that's you?"
"as far as i know." maeve exhaled, dropping her legs. "things like that are confusing."
"i know," xolo added without elaborating. "well, i'm glad you told me. congratulations, i guess?"
maeve laughed brightly, taking him by surprise when she stood up and performed a mock bow.
"thank you, thank you. no autographs, though."
"not even for me?" xolo continued the joke.
she looked at him for a long moment, eyes bright in the dim light of his bedroom, before walking over to his desk and plucking a sharpie from the pencil pot.
"maybe i can make an exception." she shrugged nonchalantly.
"i don't have any paper-" xolo started before quieting quickly as maeve picked up his hand, rolling up the sleeve of his shirt and drawing a small heart on his arm all before he could draw a breath.
"there you go," she said, tucking the sharpie into her back pocket. "you could sell your arm for a good few thousand now. loses a little bit of value for being yours, but."
her hand was still holding his, and it shouldn't have been uncommon, but it was. none of this was scripted, but it seemed to come to her so easily. xolo felt as star struck as he had when he first saw her in the chemistry reading, fumbling over something to say that didn't make him sound completely foolish.
"xolo?"
seemingly slightly concerned at his sudden silence, maeve crouched down to his eye level, but the wine they had both consumed left her depth perception a little off. her forehead knocked into his gently, their noses brushing, and like a cocky, arrogant idiot, he used the moment to kiss her.
the kiss was soft, and reasonably fast, and was something else that shouldn't have felt unfamiliar but did. closing his eyes hard to clear his head, xolo pulled back fast.
"maeve, shit, i am so fucking sorry. i don't know why i did that. i just proved everything you didn't like about me, holy shit-"
maeve kissed him to shut him up, and though his heart never stopped racing, it quickly shifted from panic to something else. pulling back to look her in the eyes for a moment, he kissed her again, his hands pulling the backs of her thighs closer to him and hers in his hair like they often were when filming.
"are we-?" he breathed gently the next time they pulled back for air.
"yeah, i guess we are." maeve's voice was hushed as she toyed with the collar of his shirt. "if you're cool with that?"
"very cool," xolo nodded hurriedly, kissing her once again.